May 15, 2019 - Yesterday, in the Michigan House Judiciary Committee, Michigan chapter leader for Moms Demand Action Emily Durbin indicated that her organization supports punishing those who forget to renew their Concealed Pistol License on time with 5 years in jail.

Well, it's almost time again for everyone to head to the polls and cast their votes for their favorite political horses.

That also means we get a lot of questions about open and concealed carry while voting. Given the current political climate and a new ruling from the Michigan Supreme Court, it's completely understandable that people are looking to make an informed decision about their own personal protection.

To help everyone out, we've listed answers to a few frequently asked questions on the topic.

No, the Michigan Supreme Court did NOT rule that schools can ban guns.

Yes, you read that right, and despite all of the headlines saying the exact opposite, it’s true. In fact, the Court declined to even address the issue, which is why I now write this op-ed.

Last Friday, the Michigan Supreme Court published a 4-3 ruling finding that Clio Area School District’s weapons policies are not field preempted, but declined to address whether or not their policies are conflict preempted.

Until yesterday, you could only apply for a Concealed Pistol License once per calendar year. For most of us, this wasn't a big deal as we've never had a problem from our county clerk, however, it has been a big problem for some.

The repeal of the oldest active Michigan gun law was made effective today with Senate Bill 219, now Public Act 95 of 2017, going into effect. The bill makes numerous minor tweaks to the concealed pistol licensing statute; however, it also makes one major change to a law that was so dangerous, we've purposely kept quiet about it ... until now.

* Please note that while Package #2 has seen movement, NOTHING HAS BEEN ENACTED into law yet. See this video on the legislative process. There is still much work to be done and MOC strongly recommends that people still apply for and renew their licenses, and that is very likely to continue even if some of this legislation is enacted.

Recently, our friends over at MCRGO published an article titled Medical Marijuana, Gun Ownership, and CPLs. In the article, they attempted to tackle the complex interaction of state and federal law as they relate to firearm and marijuana possession and licensing in Michigan.

While the article ultimately avoids providing any definitive answers, it does suggest that federal law may get in the way of licensing Michigan Medical Marijuana Act cardholders, and specifically says that one is “stepping into a gray area” when you fill out state forms for a License to Purchase a pistol or a Concealed Pistol License, and have to answer the “marijuana question”. We disagree.

Financial support is crucial to any organization, especially ones dedicated to supporting and expanding gun rights such as Michigan Open Carry. It takes money to get our message out as well as to fight and win in the courts. Our opposition knows this all too well, and even though they are heavily funded by other sympathetic leftist organizations and billionaires such as George Soros and Michael Bloomberg, they still need more, which is why they have begun micro-funding campaigns.